We celebrated the new year by seeing a movie at the theater for the first time in who knows how long -- the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Almost lost me in the first five minutes when Dr. Benson went along without getting an explanation or even making sure the guy at her door was with the government. Or maybe I was just inclined to dislike a high-tech, special-effects heavyish remake of a movie whose idea more than made up for its low budget.
Although I ended up kind of liking it. Not least because they kept the core idea and adapted it for the times.
sumi, that page took me to an article about contenders for the new Dr. Who.
Just had an interesting double feature while cleaning off my DVR--Jesus Camp followed by the original Stagecoach. The first was sufficiently scary to be a horror film, and the second was pure magic, a real classic that I hadn't seen before. John Wayne and Claire Trevor had wonderful chemistry on screen, and Thomas Mitchell was just brilliant as the drunken doctor.
and the second was pure magic, a real classic that I hadn't seen before
One of the three things I remember Joss citing as an immediate inspiration for
Firefly: Stage Coach, Hill Street Blues,
and a late sixties western by Robert Aldrich with Burt Lancaster called
Ulzana's Raid.
Weighing in late on the Oscar Movie Contenders Discussion. I've seen
Frost/Nixon, Doubt,
and
Benjamin Button.
I also saw the stage version of each of the first two.
I think I liked
Doubt
the best as a movie, which kind of surprised me: I was very worried, because I feel strongly (like Jessica mentioned) that it works incredibly well as a stage show. But it also works as a movie. And Meryl Streep continues to blow my mind on a regular basis.
I quite enjoyed
Frost/Nixon
- it has some cheesy moments in its translation to screen, but it's still a good story with fantastic acting - and was somewhat disappointed by
Benjamin Button.
Since we're comparing to
Big Fish,
I have to say that I actually prefer the latter, both for its surrealistic and lighthearted imagery and its message. I often felt that
Button
was rambling a bit, getting lost in its own points. Which isn't to say it was a bad film - I liked it a lot, actually - it just didn't blow my mind as much as I was rather hoping.
I'm sad to report that the last movie I saw was
Bedtime Stories,
with Emmett, after our ice-skating plans fell through due to an hourlong wait at the rink. Two mercies, though: (a) it did earn me points with Emmett, and (b) it really wasn't as bad as the reviews. Adam Sandler was much less grating and miserable than I'd expected, Guy Pearce less miscast, Courteney Cox (why is she no longer using Arquette?) less brittle and unsympathetic, and Keri Russell even more luminous and adorable.
None of which adds up to a ringing endorsement, and I'd certainly rather be discussing
Doubt
or
Stagecoach,
but if you've got a small Adam Sandler fan and an afternoon that needs filling, it turned out to be way better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
I haven't seen
Doubt
or
Frost/Nixon
or
Milk
or
Benjamin Button.
It's interesting that here people are comparing
Benjamin Button
to
Big Fish
- elsewhere I've seen it compared to
Forrest Gump.
(I haven't seen
Forrest Gump
either, but I have seen and love
Big Fish
.)
I like movies but I rarely get to see them. I think that the last one I saw was that horrible
Four Christmases
movie.
